Patients who are preparing to undergo surgery requiring general anesthetic can find themselves at risk of tooth and dental damage as a result of the oral or nasal intubation process required for the procedure. In order to properly intubate the patient, the mandible and/or maxilla must be leveraged open to permit the laryngoscope blade to be inserted and the airway cleared for intubation. Unfortunately, the leverage required can lead to chipping, cracking, breaking, loss of teeth or possible aspiration of teeth or any fixed or removable dental work if pressure is applied to the teeth in an uneven or excessive manner.
There have been previous attempts to develop dental devices to address this issue. U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,838 to Foderick et al. (“Foderick”) discloses a tooth protector, which consists of two plates, an upper and a lower, which are inserted into the mouth to prevent shifting of the intubation tube. The Foderick plates provide a measure of protection to the teeth after intubation, but do not alleviate or address the issue of tooth damage during the insertion phase.
Another attempt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,623,425 and 7,044,910 to Cartledge et al. (“Cartledge”). Cartledge discloses a modified laryngoscope blade having a detachable insert located above the blade to attempt to reduce the pressure and force associated with the use of the blade for intubation.
Ideally, such a device should be adaptable for use in emergency intubation situations, to reduce the risk of complications arising from the aspiration or ingestion of tooth fragments and other particles that result from tooth damage potentially caused when using existing methods and devices. Potential damage to teeth includes but is not limited to the following: avulsion or loss of teeth, complete fractures of teeth, partial fractures of teeth, loss of fixed prostheses (including crowns, bridges, veneers), loss of removable prosthesis (including unilateral, partial, or complete dentures and obturators), loss of implants, loss of implant parts, loss of alveolar or supporting bone with teeth, loss of fillings (restorations including amalgams {silver}, composites {white}, porcelain or gold or metal (inlays or onlays) and any other damage to teeth, fixed or removable prostheses, surrounding and/or supporting structures not aforementioned.
It is an object of this invention to partially or completely fulfill one or more of the above-mentioned needs.